Refrigerator-car lock.



No. 650,560. Patented May 29, I900.

T. B. KIRBY.

REFRIGERATOR GAB LOCK.

(Application filed Has. 11, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheat (No Model.)

A N A Q a J N THE mums PETERS 00.. Puo'raurua, WASHINGTON, n. c.

No. 650,550 Patentedlay 29, I900. T. B. KIRBY.

REFRIGERATOR CAR LOCK.

' (Application filed Mar. 11, 1899.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets8heet 2.

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'il-IOll'IAS l3. KIRBY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

REFRIGERATOR-CAR LOOK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 650,560, dated May 29, 1900.

Application filed March 11, 1899.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS B. KIRBY, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usef ul Improvements in Refrigerator-Car Locks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to refrigerator-car locks, and has for its object toprovide a locking device whereby the closures of the apertures by means of which access is had to the interior of such cars may be readily closed and secured by means of suitable locking and sealing devices. The lock which I have devised is more particularlydevised for use in securin g the hinged doors or covers of the ice-holes of refrigerator-cars, although it is adapted for use in other locations and also for use with such doors when not hinged.

The objects more specifically in view are to provide a lock whereof the locking-bolt shall not be liable to become displaced or lost and which, while always in proper position to secure the door or cover in a locked position, will not be liable to breakage in case the door or cover is closed without the locking-bolt being withdrawn into an entirely-open position.

To these ends my invention consists in certain novel features, which I will now proceed to describe and will then particularly point out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a refrigerator-car having my improved lock applied to the door or cover of one of the ice-holes thereof. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the lock proper detached; Fig. 41, an end elevation thereof, and Fig. 5 a side elevation.

In the said drawings, indicates the carbody, and 11 the roof thereof, having an icehole 12 therein, which is closed by a cover 13, hinged at 1& to the margin of the ice-hole. Upon the free margin of this cover 13 is mounted the lock, which consists of a base-plate 14, adapted to be secured to the top of the doorcover and having a vertical flange 15 to fit against the front edge thereof. This baseplate is provided with a slot 16, through which the locking-staple 17 may pass, said lockingstaple being secured to the car and extending upward from the roof thereof and the cover 13 being suitably slotted, as shown at 18, to

Serial No. 708,771. (No model.)

permit the passage'of said staple, the slots 16 and 1S registering. The base-plate 14 is provided with an upwardly-projecting lug 19, having an aperture 20 therethrough, which when the cover is closed registers with the opening in the upper portion of the loop or staple 17.

21'indicates an arm extending forward from the flanged margin of the plate 1st and having upwardly-extending lugs 22 to receive a pivot-pin 23, upon which the locking-bolt 21L is mounted. The rear portion of this looking-bolt is shaped to adapt it to pass through the staple 1'7 and through the aperture 20 in thelug 19 and is itself provided with a transverse aperture to receive a suitable sealing or locking device. The forward portion of the locking-bolt 2lis longitudinally slotted, as shown at 26, said slot being in a plane substantially.parallel to the plane of the base-plate 14 and the pivot-pin 23 passing, through said slot 26 and serving not only as a pivotrpin, but also as a guiding-pin. Thelugs 22 have substantially-parallel opposite faees, and the sides of the forward part of the locking-bolt 24 are plane or flattened, as indicated at 27, and this portion of the bolt is of. such a width as to fit between the lugs 22, which therefore serve to guide said bolt in its longitudinal movement. The locking-bolt is also desirably provided with an upwardly-extending projection 28, by means of which it may be more conveniently moved longitudinally. The under side of the forward or slotted portion of the bolt is preferably curved longitudinally, as more clearly shown in Fig. 5, and the slot 26 is preferably correspondingly curved for the purpose of giving a sufficient clearance between the bolt and the adjacent surface of the arm 21 to permit the said bolt to tilt freely. The lock thus organized is secured in position upon the free edge of the cover 13, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, and it will be noted that the locking-bolt has not only a longitudinal sliding connection with its base, but is also pivotally connected therewith, so that its free end is capable of swinging toward and from said base. In using the lock to secure the door or cover in place the locking-bolt is moved longitudinally, so as to draw its free end forward clear of the slot 16, whereupon the cover may be lowered into a closed position, and the locking-bolt may then be slipped backward through the staple 17, which projects upward through the slot 16, said locking-bolt also extending through the opening in the lug 19. device, such as a seal or locking-device in the nature of a padlock or the like, may be then passed through the aperture in the-projecting end of the locking-pin, and the cover will thus be secured in position. The construction set forth is particularly advantageous, for the reason that in case the locking-bolt is not retracted to a sufficient extent during the lowering of the door-cover into position and does not clear the slot 16 the staple 17 when it protrudes through said slot and strikes against the end of the locking-bolt will not break or strain this latter or be itself injured, as the locking-bolt will be free to move upward and permit the full closure of the door and give free passage to the staple without any damage to the parts of the lock. The bolt is, moreover, properly guided, so as to be caused to accurately pass through the staple and lug when moved into a locking position, and is permanentlyconnected to its base-plate, and therefore not liable to be lost or stolen, as is the case with locking-pins such as are ordinarily employed and which are connected to the car or cover by means of a chain or the like.

I do not wish to .be understood as limiting myself .to the precise details of construction hereinbefore set forth, as it is obvious that these details may be varied without departing from theprinciple of my invention. For

, instance, the lug 19 upon the base-plate may be omitted, although I prefer to employ the same, for the reason that it not only serves to more permanently secure the parts together, but also affords a means for holding the looking-bolt in a fixed position, where it cannot swing free and be liable to injury when the door or cover is open.

A staple-securing I claim 1. In a:car-leck, the-combination, of abase, a locking-pin mounted to slide endwise on said base, a slot in said base located in alinement with, and arranged transversely with relation to, said locking-pin to receive a loop or staple in position to receive the lockingpin in said endwise movement of the latter, and pivotalcon-nections between the lockingpin and base, constructed to permit endwise movement of the pin and whereby the loopengaging-endof the latter is free-to swing outwardly from the base when disengaged from the loop, substantially as described.

2. In a car-lock, the combination, with a base having a slot to receive a loop or a staple and provided with a transverse guiding and pivot pin, of .a locking-pin longitudinally slotted at its end remote from the locking end to receive said guiding and pivot pin whereby said locking end is free to swing away from the base, substantially as described.

3. In a car-lock, the combination, with a base slotted to receive a loop or staple and provided with parallelguideflugssupporting a transverse pin, of a locking-bolt adapted to fit between said lugs and slotted longitudinally at its end remote from the locking end to receive said transverse pin whereby said locking end is free to swing away from the base, substantially as described.

4. A car-lock comprising a slotted baseplate having a perforated lug adjacent to said slot and parallel guiding-lugs connected by a transverse pin, in combination with .a locking-pin longitudinally slotted rat one'end and havingits other end adapted to be projected over the slot in the base-plate and through the apertured lug thereof, substantially as described.

THOMAS B. KIRBY.

Witnesses FREDERICK O. GooDWIN, IRVINE MILLER. 

